Do You Need an XLR or USB Mic for Your Content Creation?

tips for recording dialog

A man speaking into an XLR microphone.

There's a lot of excitement at the thought of getting your creative ideas out there in the form of a podcast or video.

But sometimes the technical hurdles can be like running headlong into a brick wall...which can really take the joy out of the process.

Today, we'll clear up a technical question to help you move toward keeping your exciting idea alive!

You know you need a microphone for your podcast or dialogue for video, but what kind?

There's many a rabbit hole you could fall down with that question, but let's focus on the XLR or USB microphone question.

An XLR or USB microphone simply refers to how the microphone connects to your computer for recording.

Specifically, the mic would connect to your computer using either an XLR cable (into an audio interface) or directly into the computer using a USB cable.

But which type of microphone is best for podcast and voice over for video dialogue - USB or XLR?

Dialogue for Podcasts and Voice Overs for YouTube

When we're talking about recording your podcast or videos for YouTube, either type of microphone (XLR or USB) will serve you well.

But read on for the different features and drawbacks of each type of mic to find out what works best for your recording situation:

USB Mics

While XLR mics have always been the standard for quality, USB mics have improved by leaps and bounds.

Many USB mics are now at a quality level where any subtle difference to a similar XLR mic just isn't going to be distinguishable by your listening audience.

And of course, your listening audience are really the ones that count the most!

So you don't need to worry about quality with most USB mics anymore - they can deliver satisfactory recordings of your spoken words similar to an XLR mic.

If you want to hear this for yourself (and really want to nerd out), check out these fantastic listening tests comparing XLR mics to USB mics from Tansy Aster Academy:

Another great feature of USB mics is the low technical barrier.

USB mics are the simplest way to get started recording your podcast or video dialogue as there isn't any audio interface to deal with.

Basically, all you need to do is plug the mic into your computer using the USB cable and start recording directly into your recording software (called a DAW).

With that in mind, a good USB mic might be a perfect fit for you if you're looking for a quick and easy recording setup, that doesn't skimp on quality.

But what is a "good" USB mic you may ask.

When we say "good", we recommend aiming for something that is midrange in price (while avoiding the cheapest or most expensive mics).

And of course, read up on a wide variety of reviews to see how the microphone works for other folks.

A USB microphone on a desk.

^{[ A USB Microphone ]}

Issues to Note

One potential issue that's usually thought of as an advantage is the way USB mics are designed.

Like we said before they're made for ease of use.

USB mics are made of the three parts normally found separately in the XLR mic / audio interface setup:

the microphone
preamp (or preamplifier)
A to D converter

The issue occurs if one part breaks down - for instance the preamp. When that happens with your USB mic, you have to scrap the whole thing...

If the preamp failed on your XLR mic / audio interface setup, you only lost the audio interface (preamps are built into these).

But you would still have your XLR mic to use with a new interface.

Another issue to note is that there are problems associated with recording multiple USB mics into one computer.

For example, if you were recording a conversation between yourself and another person for your podcast, USB mics wouldn't be your best bet.

This is because you are likely to run into problems with more than one USB mic being recognized by your computer.

Here are a few workarounds for this problem:

use a separate computer for each USB mic (not an ideal situation unless you have multiple computers for recording)
or use XLR mics instead - that is, use an audio interface that has multiple XLR inputs for your XLR mics (which brings us to our next point).

XLR Mics

XLR mics are the standard for high quality sound in all types of recording including your dialogue for videos and podcasts.

So any good XLR mic paired with a good audio interface is going to give you a satisfactory recording (with some practice and room treatment).

Again, when we say "good" we're leaning toward something that's midrange in price to find value (avoiding the cheapest or the most expensive mics or audio interfaces).

Reading up on a wide variety of reviews to see how the microphone works for others will also help you gauge what is "good".

Besides XLR mics delivering quality in your recording, another benefit is that they can be used to record multiple people at once.

When you have an audio interface that has inputs for several microphones, you'll have no problem recording that perfect guest on your podcast along with your own voice.

And the audio interface will only need to be connected to one computer running one piece of recording software (DAW) to record all the mics at once.

In this way, a setup with an XLR mic and an audio interface with several inputs, allows you to grow and adapt for what you may need in the future for your podcast or video setup.

An audio interface with two XLR inputs.

^{[ An Audio Interface with Two XLR Inputs ]}

A few more helpful features of XLR mics are:

they decrease noise and interference (hum and hiss) because of the way they're built (XLR uses a three-pin connector for their cables)
they can easily be swapped out in different combinations with various audio interfaces and recording equipment (you can adapt them to what works best for your needs).

An XLR microphone connected to a stand.

^{[ An XLR Microphone ]}

Issues to Note

One drawback of an XLR mic setup is the separate parts required to record your spoken words.

We mentioned above that this could be viewed as an advantage over a USB mic if a part were to fail, but there are costs and compatibility issues to be aware of with the separate parts.

Cost of Parts

The separate parts you'll need for your XLR / audio interface setup are:

the XLR microphone
an XLR cable
an audio interface

When you add up these three necessary parts aiming for value (not the cheapest and not the most expensive), you're going to end up paying more than you would for just the USB mic.

Compatibility of Audio Interface

In theory audio interfaces should work flawlessly with your computer.

However, in my experience, certain audio interfaces may have trouble with certain computers.

Personally, I've had issues with a certain interface and the PC I was using at the time.

Instead of clear and consistent audio, I struggled with constant clicks and crackles spoiling otherwise good recordings.

Granted, I've had no problems with other interface / PC combinations that have worked very well, but there's a catch...

These computers were custom designed and tested with the specific audio interface to ensure smooth audio recording and playback (and for a premium price).

This speaks to the fact that Windows is not optimized for dialogue recording out of the box.

It needs to be configured, which goes beyond the scope of this website.

Here's a very helpful article from Focusrite (the audio interface makers) about tweaks that can be made to a Windows system to optimize it for audio:

Focusrite - Optimising Windows for Audio

Perhaps this is why a lot of people getting into recording audio or music go for Mac computers instead.

But I don't know for sure if those using Macs have less problems with these issues (Mac users, feel free to chime in here...).

In conclusion:

look carefully at the system requirements for any audio interface you decide to pair with your computer...
and do your homework by reading up about others' experiences with it
check up on the kind of technical support people are getting from the specific audio interface company you're looking at...
are they responsive and helpful?

I know I've needed to contact support for one of my interfaces and they were able to fix things by remotely accessing my computer.

Summary

That was a bit of a deep dive into the details of USB and XLR mics, but I hope the information really helps you focus on what will work best for your podcast or video dialogue recordings.

You can see that there's no definitive answer to the question, "Do I need an XLR or USB mic for podcasting or voice overs for YouTube?".

That's because of the wide variety of needs people have for their specific situation.

Instead, it helps to consider the different benefits and drawbacks of each mic setup while thinking of current and future needs for your dialogue recordings:

USB mic pros: